The Beginning of the Loss

Being overweight in your own mind can be one of the most haunting personal experiences ever. You can feel when you are carrying it that it is just sapping your energy and gravity pulls you closer to earth. You think about it all the time. It is always on your mind. You may not wear something because you feel like it makes you look like a whale. You may not go out and have fun thinking you might be “that guy”. And for me, it led to a minor bout with depression (which by itself is not something you want to mess around with).

At my last job we all worked crazy hours. Not just crazy hours, but inconsistent hours. This leads to never knowing when you next meal is going to come, never knowing what time you are going to leave the office. Never knowing if you are going to be able to do anything physical or not.

Over the last 3 years I have gained close to 60 pounds from just eating crappy and poor eating habits.

Well, in October I left the company that I was working for and decided to make a decision. I would try to get my life in order and my weight under control. I had topped out at 248 pounds, after spending much of my life in the 172-178 range. It was time to make a change.

But the most difficult thing when you know you are overweight is actually doing something about it.

After I had let six weeks pass, and not doing a thing about my weight. I decided to join a gym that is less than a five-minute drive away. Upon joining, I knew that I wouldn’t be able to do it myself. I needed a trainer.

After nearly fainting and throwing up during my first workout session with the trainer. I knew that he would push me harder than I would push myself.

I signed up for 20 personal training sessions (actually got 22 for 20) and now I am about 5 weeks in. Between eating better and going to the gym five times a week, I am down to 222 pounds and feel 20 times better than I did a month ago.

My goals short term (next two months) is go back down to 200 pounds and my goals for the long term (next six months) is get down to 180 pounds. I am just going to keep pushing myself and trying to do my best to take care of myself in the future.